Continuous strip of detachably interconnected folded products

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a continuous strip of detachable consecutive interconnected products manufactured by folding, such as envelopes and the like, and to a process for manufacturing the said strip, two of those consecutive products being interconnected through a joint (22) which is not part of the products themselves and links up detachably, through successive lines of demarcation, with each of those two consecutive products in such a way that, on removing this joint (22), the said two consecutive products are entirely separated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a continuous strip of detachable consecutiveinterconnected products, obtained through folding, notably envelopes,bags, files, cases, foldable packing material, etc.

2. Prior Art

Continuous strips of detachable envelopes have long been used, as isshown a.o. by the following patent specifications: U.S. Pat. No.4,066,206 (Peterson), FR-A-1,488,888 (Gysin) and GB-A-567,925 (Davies).

Such strips of envelopes, however, hold various disadvantages as to theappearance and the finish of the envelopes, after they have beenseparated. The said envelopes, for instance, clearly show marks ofdivision lines.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention inter alia aims at remedying those flaws in a very simpleand effective way and at offering a continous strip of detachableinterconnected products, the visible edges of which, for instance, whenthey are separated, are completely finished in such a way that, as faras finishing and aspect is concerned, they entirely correspond to theones which are manufactured separately one by one and that they arehardly distinguishable from them, and this, in spite of the envelopesoriginally being made from a continous strip, in a somewhat analogousway to the first application set forth in patent GB-A-567925.

To that end, according to the invention, two consecutive products in thecontinuous strip are interconnected by a joint not being part of theproducts themselves and being connected, in a detachable way, throughsuccessive lines of demarcation, to each of those two consecutiveproducts, in such a way that, on removing the joint, the said twoconsecutive products are completely severed.

Functionally, at least part of the joints linking the consecutiveproducts are attached to a common carrier in such a way that, togetherwith the carrier, they may be severed from the other products throughone single operation.

In a particular application of the continuous strip of consecutiveproducts, a joint, according to this invention, if relevant products arebeing formed from longitudinally consecutive areas of material which areinterconnected at least through a folding line transverse to thatdirection, extends from the free edge of a so-called end area of aproduct of that strip to a so-called initial area of material of theconsecutive product of the strip.

In a specific application of this invention, if those products consistof envelopes with three successive areas of material constituting,respectively, the closing flap, the front portion and the back portionof an envelope, the closing flap forms the said initial area and theback portion the said end area.

According to a preferred application of the invention, the jointsstretch out beyond the products, in such a way that it is possible toprint those joints in a similar way to and together with the productswhich are interconnected through the latter.

The invention also pertains to a process for manufacturing a continuousstrip of products produced through folding, consecutive series of areasof material being constituted, which--are separated by folding linestransverse to the longitudinal direction of that strip, and two adjacentseries of such areas of material being interconnected by division linesthrough a joint, a product out of every series of areas of materialbeing constituted by joining the said areas through folding them roundthe said folding lines.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other particulars and advantages from the invention will be shown in thefollowing description of some specific applications of the stripaccording to the invention and a process to manufacture them; thisdescription is only provided by way of an example and does not restrictthe scope of the protection claimed; the numbers referred to hereafterpertain to the corresponding drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of consecutive series of areas of material.

FIG. 2 provides a schematic drawing of how envelopes are formed,according to the invention, from series of areas of material from FIG.1.

FIG. 3 represents a schematic plan view of a strip with three envelopesaccording to the invention.

FIG. 4 represents the bottom view of the strip of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 represents three envelopes, according to the invention on a jointpiece carrier.

FIG. 6 provides a schematic perspective drawing of a joint piececarrier, according to the invention, with three envelopes.

FIG. 7 represents a cross section according to the line VII--VII of FIG.1.

FIG. 8 schematically represents severed joint pieces.

FIG. 9 provides a schematic plan view of consecutive series of areas ofmaterial provided with bands for pin-type feeding.

FIG. 10 represents a plan view of two parallel series of areas ofmaterial.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) OF THE INVENTION

In the various drawings, the same numbers refer to the same or toanalogous elements.

In order to constitute a strip of consecutive products, in a firstapplication of the invention, a basic form 12 from which envelopes aremade, is cut out of a continuous strip of material 1, preferably a stripof paper, cardboard or plastic, as represented in FIG. 1, along thelines 10 in the longitudinal direction of this strip 1. The hatchedzones 11 thus are removed from the sides of the strip 1.

Further, the folding lines 13, 14 and 15 as well as the folding divisionlines 18 are applied to this basic form 12. The folding lines 13 and 14extend transverse to the length of the strip and right across the widthof basic form 12, whereas the folding lines 15 extends along thelongitudinal direction of this basic form 12. Folding lines 13, 14 and15 delineate the front side 16 of an envelope. Folding lines 15 separateside flaps 17 from this front side 16. Back 19 of an envelope isdelineated, on the one hand, by a folding division line 18 and a foldingline 14, and, on the other hand, by lines 10 or, accordingly, thelongitudinal edge of the basic form 12. Next to front side 16 of anenvelope, a closing flap 21 has been provided. This closing flap isdelineated by a folding line 13 and a division line 20. Thus, a jointpieces 22 is constituted, connecting two consecutive envelopes and isdelineated by a division line 20 and the subsequent folding and divisionline 18.

Consequently, the basic form 12 contains consecutive series of areas ofmaterial, each series of those areas being separated by division lines18, 20. In each series, the areas are constituted by, successively, aback 19, a front side 16 and a closing flap 21, separated by foldinglines 13, 14, 15 which permit the folding of an envelope. Twoconsecutive series are interconnected by the aforementioned joint piece22. Thus, three series A, B and C are represented in basic form 12 ofFIG. 1.

The folding lines 13, 14, 15 are provided to make the folding easier andmore accurate in constituting the envelopes. When the envelopes aremachine-made, these folding lines may possibly be left out and thefolding of the envelopes requires then but one stage. The forming of theenvelopes may therefore take place on the basis of a continuous strip ofmaterial, both the aforementioned basic form 12 being cut out and theenvelopes being folded and glued all at one stage. The basic formrepresented in FIG. 1 may therefore show an almost unlimited length.

FIG. 2 shows the forming of the envelopes on the basis of a basic form12 consisting of three series A, B and C of areas of material.Accordingly, a first envelope is made by folding both side flaps 17against the corresponding front band 16, around folding line 15. Next,an adhesive 17' is applied to the side of those side flaps 17 turnedaway from the front side 16. The corresponding back 19 is then foldedagainst the side flaps 17, around folding line 14, in order for back 19to be attached to side flaps 17.

The outside of the in-turned side flaps 17 and the inside of thein-turned back 19 may also be joined in another way, according to thematerial used. When folding the back 19 along the lines of the methoddescribed above, joint piece 22, following back 19, is folded simplyaround folding and division line 18, in such a way that this joint piece22 is now at the side of back 19 which is turned away from front side 16of the envelope. The other series are folded analogously into envelopes.

The closing flap 21 of an envelope formed from the first series of areasof material of a basic form 12 may be closed or not.

FIG. 3 shows the three front portions 16 of consecutive envelopes A, Band C formed in the above-mentioned manner. FIG. 4 represents the back19 of the strip of envelopes shown in FIG. 3. In the course of thatprocess, the closing flaps 21 are provided with an adhesive agent 21'allowing to attach the closing flaps 21, after they have been foldedaround folding line 13, to the corresponding backs 19, in order to closethe envelopes.

It is self-evident that basic form 12 for the envelopes may be executedin various types, both for continuous series and for a certain amount ofenvelopes.

The use of joint pieces 22 is also multifunctional. They may take anyform without this affecting the quality of the envelopes. In a specialapplication, for instance, joint pieces 22 in basic form 12 are madesufficiently broad, so that, in a strip of folded envelopes, in additionto the entire closing flaps 21, also part of joint pieces 22 exceedsbeyond the front portions 16 of the respective envelopes Thus, thesejoint pieces 22 may be printed simultaneously with the envelopes. Thisapplication is very useful when a counterfoil has to be preserved as acheck of the printed envelopes or for filing purposes. In that way,these joint pieces 22 may constitute such a counterfoil which not onlyexceeds from under the envelopes, but which may for instance also befiled, after having been printed simultaneously with the envelopes.

In a very advantageous application of the strip 1, according to theinvention, uninterrupted series of envelopes are constituted, the jointpieces 22 being attached to a common carrier on the folding of theenvelopes. This carrier may, for instance, be a paper strip which, onfolding the envelopes, is progressively glued to the joints. Thisapplication has the advantage that the joint pieces 22 remain fixed tothe carrier, when the envelopes are removed. This mainly holdsplus-points in filing the joint pieces 22, when the latter constitutethe above-mentioned counterfoils. Moreover, the envelopes then may beseparated from joints pieces 22 through one single operation, byretaining a number of consecutive envelopes, on the one hand, and thesaid carrier, on the other hand.

This application is illustrated in FIGS. 5-8 through a strip of threeconsecutive envelopes A, B and C. Joint piece carrier 22', precedingenvelope A, is lengthened to such an extent that, when closing flap 21of envelope A is folded back, joint piece carrier 22' covers the wholeback of the three envelopes A, B and C. This joint piece carrier 22'constitutes the said carrier discussed above and, thus, is attached tothe other joint pieces 22 which link up at the back 19 of envelopes A, Band C. In FIG. 5, this joint piece carrier 22' is represented in anon-folded back position, together with the folded envelopes A, B and C.In FIG. 6, this application is drawn schematically in perspective, jointpiece carrier 22', corresponding to envelope A, being folded back tomeet the other joints piece 22 of envelopes A, B and C. Further, joint22, following envelope C, is about as broad as back 19 of this envelopeC, in order for it to overlie this back after folding. FIG. 7 representsa cross-section of FIG. 6.

If joint pieces 22 are glued to joint piece carrier 22', as set outabove, a unit, called envelope sheet, is formed. Subject to thedimensions and shape of the said basic form 12, this envelope sheet mayassume all possible sizes. Thus, when indeed the appropriate dimensionsare being applied, the envelope sheet may be given a DIN A4 format,which may be printed by every standard printer. Those envelope sheetsmay be put per batch in the printer; they will automatically be pickedup one by one and printed. This makes it possible to handle whole seriesof envelopes in an ordinary standard printer without any furtherinvestment being required. For a printer with a very sensible liftingmechanism, a strip of paper 101 as shown in FIG. 7 is applied to theclosing flap of the first envelope by non-permanent glue. Preferably,strip 101 should exceed the sheet by about 1 to 1.5 cm. It would be moreappropriate to glue strip 101 to the beginning of joint piece 22'.

When, on basic form 12, division lines 20 and folding and division lines18 hold but at a few places, i.e., when, for instance, they have beenwell perforated two or three times for a distance of 1 cm, or are thusprovided with a division strip, while the rest of those lines have beencut loose, this permits a great advantage in that the envelopes may beremoved from the whole at one pull. Each one of the loose envelopes isfully finished.

The severing of the envelopes should be done as follows: the envelopes,the bases of which are held together are taken firmly into one hand,while with the other hand the joint piece carrier is gripped; then ashort but fierce tug should be given. The envelopes then will be held inone hand, whereas all joint pieces 22 will be left in the other. FIG. 8represents the removed joint pieces 22, the joint 22' being shown crosshatched. Joint piece carrier 22' here constitutes a single page providedwith the remaining joint pieces 22. Those joints 22 may be filed, since,during printing, an identical reference as on the corresponding envelopemay be applied to joint 22. Anyway, on single page joint piece carrier22', the joint pieces are glued in the right order of printing of theenvelopes.

The envelope sheet, which has been described above, is made of the samekind of paper, since it is formed from a continuous strip of paper, andtherefore may be relatively heavy. In order to make it lighter, jointpiece carrier 22' can be reduced to a strip of about 1 cm as from theend of the closing flap 21 of the first envelope. A much lighter type ofpaper, for instance onionskin, may be glued to that bit, in order toreturn joint piece carrier 22' to its size as described above and tohandle it further in the above-mentioned way.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of an adjusted basic form of envelopes forpin-type feeding. The hatched area in the drawing represents the severedmaterial. Apart from that, the process to attain the finished product isidentical to the method described above.

The folding and division lines on the non-cut side bands 30 are alsoapplied, so that they are folded up in the course of the actual formingof the envelopes.

In finishing this variant, an adhesive agent may be applied, on folding,to the places where the side bands 30 overlap or they may be connectedin any other way. It would be proper to apply the perforations whichmust be provided for pin-type feeding devices, after the forming hasbeen completed.

It is important that those side bands or transport bands 30 are onlyattached sideways to joint pieces 22, so that, when removing those bands30, no traces of perforated lines are left on the sides of theenvelopes.

FIG. 10 shows a basic form 12 in which the envelopes are also puthorizontally next to each other, so that, at the constitution accordingto the process as described above, two envelopes are being shapedsimultaneously. Per horizontal series, two in this drawing, it should bemade sure that the side flaps 17 of each envelope are simultaneouslyfolded inward and provided with adhesive agent 17' or a subsituteadhesive. The procedure of FIG. 9 (pin-type feeding system) may or maynot be applied to it. Possibly, more than two series of areas ofmaterial next to each other may be provided in one basic form 12.

When the strip of envelopes, according to the invention, is applied toprinters using the standard DIN A4 format, irrespective of whether thepaper input takes place through a paper tray, through a cutsheet feederor page by page, the strip of paper (material) must be cut up (shaped)in pieces having a previously set length. The paper (material) treatedaccording to the invention, thus, as a finished product, providesseveral envelopes the number of which differs according to the desiredenvelope format. More in particular, a format of a DIN A4 sheet, afterthe folding and shaping of basic form 12, is being attained which may beapplied to every printer using DIN A4 format, if the basic form is giventhe proper dimensions. In view of the stepped production process, theformat of the envelope and therefore the number of envelopes perindividually finished envelope sheet, with already formed envelopes, maybe adjusted by reducing or enlarging the joint piece 22.

An envelope which is severed from the sheet and which is closed (or isremoved from the formed material), in spite of the production processaccording to which the envelopes (products) remain interconnected untilthe end use, is characterised by outlines which are intact and show nodivision marks whatsoever. Briefly, the end product is a fully completedenvelope.

As has been shown above, the strip, according to the invention, differsin many ways from the technical state of affairs of the patents U.S.Pat. No. 4,066,206 (PETERSON), FR-A-1 488 888 (GYSIN) and GB-A-567 924(DAVIES).

The first two of those patents do indeed pertain to a continuous stripof envelopes, but the envelopes are put together as loose finishedunits, in view of constituting that strip. The envelopes of that strip,therefore, are not being formed from a continuous strip of paper.

In a first application of patent GB-A-567924, a strip of envelopes isbeing constituted out of a continuous strip of paper.

It should be pointed out that the said first application of this patentwill still show division lines or cutting marks on the edges of thefront side of the formed envelopes. Those lines result from removing thetransport bands on severing the envelopes from the series. Even if thosebands are at the sides of the back of the envelopes or at the sides ofthe closing flaps, the same problem will still arise.

Another drawback is the fact that those envelopes can only be severedone by one. No trace is left of the severed envelope, which may be usedas a voucher to be filed. The continuous strip can only be applied tomachines which are equipped with pin-type feeding.

The requirement to apply the labels later on, one by one, to theenvelopes still is a time-consuming and little effective process. Inaddition, automatic envelope machines still not only have trouble incoping with labelled envelopes, but also with window envelopes, whichdid provide a solution through skipping the stage of the separateaddressing of the envelopes. Using labels or window envelopes thengenerally results in putting the items to be sent or to be distributedin the envelope by hand. The invention provides a solution to theabove-mentioned problem. The end user can also print series of envelopesthrough his own printer, without this entailing any extra hardwareexpenses. He also still has a filing voucher per envelope, which holdsan identification system. In some applications, still more extrainformation may be printed on this filing voucher. The invention alsoeliminates the sideways division lines at the front or the back of theenvelopes, which were still apparent at envelopes that also were formedfrom a continuous strip of paper, while still being interconnected.

The technical problem the invention solves, is that the separateenvelope may be formed from a continuous strip of paper and remainsinterconnected, while, in spite of that characteristic, it is being madefully ready for use and finished without there being any division linesor cutting marks on the edges of any part of the envelope. This ispossible through leaving the chosen basic forms of the envelopesinterconnected by means of a joint piece which, even after the formingof the finished product, is preserved as a joint piece.

I claim:
 1. Detachable products obtained by folding a single continuousstrip of material along folding lines, wherein each of said products isrespectively interconnected through a joint piece (22) formed by asection of said strip, said joint piece not being part of the productsand detachably linked between each of two consecutive products of saidproducts by perforated and folding lines, so that on removing each saidjoint piece (22), said products are entirely separated,wherein each ofsaid products is formed from consecutive areas of material in alongitudinal direction, each of said consecutive areas having at leastone folding line transverse to said longitudinal direction, said jointpiece detachably linked between each of two said consecutive areas at afree edge parallel to said folding line of a first of said twoconsecutive areas and to an initial area of a second of said twoconsecutive areas, and wherein each of said consecutive areas ofmaterial form a closing flap, a front and a back of an envelope, andwherein said initial area is said closing flap, and said end is saidback.
 2. The detachable products according to claim 1, wherein at leastpart of each said joint piece is attached to a common carrier so thatthe joint piece (22), together with the common carrier, may be severedfrom the products in one single operation.
 3. The detachable productsaccording to claim 1, wherein each said joint piece (22) extends underthe products so that said joint piece can be printed in an identicalmanner to and simultaneously with, the products interconnected by saidjoint piece.
 4. The detachable products according to claim 1, whereineach side of said strip is provided with a transport band withsuccessive perforations, said transport band being made from the samematerial as said consecutive areas, andwherein said transport bands (30)are only engaged to sides of each said joint piece, so that sides ofsaid consecutive areas of material are spaced apart from said transportbands (30).